A New Life
by The Masked Mistress
Summary: Jeff Life was a normal teen from the panhandle of Florida, until one day he's confronted by his previously unknown 'twin' and a certain fire demon. Now, plunged into a world of demons and flying oars, will he ever adapt?
1. Prolog

Disclaimer: I don't own Yusuke, the gang, or anything that has to do with the show Yu Yu Hakusho. I do, on the other hand, own the idea of this story, Jeff, and Toma-su, so please don't steal them.

Chapter 1: Prolog

Jeff Life, 17 years old, was a normal boy. He lived with his mother and older brother, Johnny, in a small house on the panhandle of Florida. He was the star runner of his track team, some said that he had the wings of the wind on his feet. He didn't care for school much, though he was a good student and he had few close friends, but those that made it through the various walls around his heart were considered precious as any diamond or bauble, though they rarely knew just how important they were. Then, one day, today, all of what he thought was real and imaginary will be caused to come into question, because today he will meet his father and 'twin' and thusly be involuntarily thrust into their world. Who is his father? None other then a koorime known throughout the Spirit and Demon Worlds, Hiei.

Jeff was heading back home from a normal day of school, as usual he'd stayed late for track practice, and the sun was getting ready to set. A couple of his track buddies offered him a ride home, but as usual he declined. He never rode anywhere he could walk, or even better, run. He wasn't environmental or anything, he just preferred to use his legs. Besides, his house was only a mile or so from the school, not that far for a track member, and certainly not far enough in Jeff's eyes to warrant using up precious gas just to get to and from school. At least that's what he told himself. He watches the sunset as he walks, sighing and using one hand to push some of his unruly short light blue hair out of his eyes as he hikes up his backpack once again with the other, which, as usual, was laden with all of his schoolbooks since his locker absolutely refused to cooperate and open. Suddenly, he saw a flash of black, then white, from out of the corner of his eye behind him. At first he shrugged it off, but then he saw it again, and again, seemingly jumping from tree to tree.

He pretends not to notice but turns down a road he knows is a dead end and walks to the end before turning around and saying "Alright, come on out. I've seen you, and know you're following me, so just come out and tell me what the heck you want with me." He waits for a few moments and is starting to question if he really did see anything or if the sun was just playing tricks on him before suddenly the two flashes are seen again and then there are two men standing in front of him. One is shorter and only comes up to his chest, black hair with white streaks sticking almost straight up while cold red eyes stare out from under his black bangs and white headband. However, it's the other figure that made Jeff drop his backpack and stare in disbelief. It was like looking into the mirror, same short, wavy light blue hair, same strange red eyes that no one seemed to ever be able to explain, same face, same height, if the clothes were different he would've sworn that he WAS looking in a mirror.

"Who....What....?" he stumbles over his own tongue, still staring at the mirror image of himself, who just regarded him with the same icy stare that the other man was giving him.

"Close your mouth boy, it's not dignified to gape." the shorter man says in smooth, practiced English, emotionless as his eyes, causing Jeff's mouth to snap shut like it was spring-loaded, his eyes still full of the questions that couldn't seem to make it out of his mouth.

The taller figure's eyes travel over him, narrowing slightly all the while before speaking "Hiei-sama, are you sure that he is the one. I mean, yes he looks similar to me, but he seems so, weak."

Jeff is insulted by this and opens his mouth to say something before being interrupted by 'Hiei-sama' "Toma-su, be quiet. He is the one, you feel it as well as I do, probably better. It is not his fault he has not been raised to be as strong as you, a problem that will soon be remedied."

Jeff screws his face up "Hey! I'm right here you know, I can hear you perfectly fine. And I am not weak! I'm one of the strongest guys in my school!"

The two figures return their icy gazes to him, before the taller one, 'Toma-su' disappears and then reappears directly in front of him, no more then two inches from his face, causing Jeff to yelp in suprise and jump back, hitting the wall behind him as Toma-su replies coldly "That means absolutely nothing, ningen."

Jeff regains his composure and clears his throat a bit before speaking "Ningen? What does that even mean? And what do you mean 'that means absolutely nothing'? Who the heck ARE you guys? What do you want with me?"

The two look at each other for a second before the short one, 'Hiei-sama', nods curtly and Toma-su whirls around and nearly hisses "We'll explain everything later, right now we need to move. Quickly." With that he disappears again before reappearing directly behind him and bringing his hand down on Jeff's shoulder, knocking him out before Jeff can say another word. Then, silently, Toma-su picks him up and disappears after Hiei-sama.


	2. I'm WHERE!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything except this story, Jeff, Toma-su, and my dignity, so please don't take them.

Chapter 2: I'm WHERE?!

Jeff slowly comes to and sits up, holding his head while looking around. As he does he only becomes more and more worried. This is definitely not his room. Where is he? Suddenly, the door that leads out of the room slides open and a strange blue-haired girl comes in. She turns around and seems surprised to see him awake, because she jumps a little before smiling nervously and saying "Konichiwa." while waving at him.

He looks at her for a second before hesitantly returning the wave, saying "Uhh....hi."

The girl frowns at him and seems to think for a second saying a bit slowly "Oh, you speak English then, right?"

He nods "Yeah, of course I speak English. What else would I speak?"

She thinks for a second before saying "Just a sec." And with that bolts out of the room and slams the door behind her. Jeff blinks and just sits there while he can hear something or other going on in the other room. Lots of screaming from the girl it sounds like and talking from a voice that sounds very familiar. Then he hears the girl say, well, scream it. The name, Hiei. 'So' he thinks to himself 'that weird little dude's got something to do with this.' He's tired of just lying around, so he gets up and goes over to the door, quietly sliding it open and slipping out.

He makes his way down the hall to the living area where he sees the girl, the guy he knows as 'Hiei-sama', along with three other guys. One with slicked back black hair and brown eyes that just seem to spell trouble, one with orange hair that seems to have dots for eyes and doesn't look that bright, and one with long red hair and green eyes that speak of a wisdom beyond his years. Everything stops when he walks into the room, every eye riveted to him. He shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other before saying "Hey, umm....I got bored in there, what're you all talking about?"

The girl speaks and for the first time he notices that she has purple eyes. "Well, you see, we weren't expecting you to speak English. Hiei went a little further than we thought he did." Jeff stares at her for a second before what she just said sinks in.

"Wait a minute, what do you mean 'you weren't expecting I'd speak English'? You were expecting me? Who are all of you and what the heck do you WANT with me?" he asks, more then a little frustrated at this point.

The girl looks at him in disbelief before looking at 'Hiei-sama' the same way and saying something to him in some language that he could even begin to understand. 'Hiei-sama' replies and the girl looks back to Jeff with sympathy in her eyes "I'm sorry, I didn't know that you didn't know. My name's Botan. We have been expecting you because Hiei there told us that he was going to get you, and he told us about you very briefly before going off. We weren't expecting you to speak English because, well, you're a very long way from home. This house is about a half-hour's drive away from Tokyo."

Jeff takes a few minutes for everything to sink in, every eye watching his reaction. Finally, he looks at Botan and with as much calm as one could expect from a person says "From WHERE?!" before running up to Hiei and grabbing him by the collar and hiking him up "YOU! You brought me here! Why'd you take me? Did you do anything to my mom or Johnny? I swear, if I find out that you did anything to them I'll..."

Hiei interrupts "Calm down, I didn't do anything to your ningen family, they weren't even really you're family, you should let go of them, it's not like it's likely you'll ever see them again."

The words clutch Jeff's stomach but he powers on, asking a single word, nearly growling it out "Why?"

Hiei's voice remains as cold and calm as ever "Because they've done their job, poorly, but they've done it. Now you have no more use for them. It's time for you to move on to the next part of your life and leave them behind, the sooner you forget them the less pain they'll cause you."

With that Jeff slams Hiei into the nearby wall, the three boys jumping up in alarm, though he hardly even notices them as he growls out "Take....me...back...now!"

Suddenly he isn't holding Hiei anymore and he spins around to see him on the other side of the room, regarding him with the same icy stare "No. Even if I wanted to, I can't. You belong here now, whether you like it or not. If I were to take you back now you would die for sure."

Out of sheer frustration Jeff punches the wall that had held Hiei moments ago, leaving a sizable dent as he once again asks the question that has now taken on so many meanings for him "Why?"

Hiei's eyes narrow, before he replies "It doesn't really matter why. It's the truth and that's all you need to know." With that he disappears, leaving a very confused teenager, a girl that didn't have a clue what to do, and three boys that had no idea what was going on.

Suddenly Jeff breaks down and sits in the seat nearby, curling up into the fetal position and just starts crying. The four other occupants look a bit uncomfortable as Botan presumably explains to the boys what just happened. Jeff doesn't hear it though, all he hears is his own pitiable whimpering that mostly was nothing more then gibberish and phrases of "I wanna go home."

Some time later he feels a hand shake his shoulder. He looks up to see Botan with a sympathetic smile and an out-held handkerchief. He uncurls and takes the handkerchief, sniffling a little before drying his eyes and saying "Sorry, I don't usually cry. I think everything just got to me. So, I really can't go back?" Botan sighs and says "I'm afraid not. Hiei was the only one that would've been able to take you back, and he seems bound and determined to keep you here."

Suddenly they hear someone clearing their throat behind them and he looks up to see that it was the black-haired boy, as Botan says "Oh yes, since it seems you're going to be here for a while, you should be introduced to the rest of the gang. The black-haired one is Yusuke, the tall one with orange hair is Kuwabara and the red-haired one is...." She tapers off before looking to the red-haired one in question. He seems to understand and walks up to him, holding out a hand to shake as he says "Kurama."

Jeff takes the hand and nods a hello before saying "Jeff."

The boy he now knows as Yusuke says something to Botan and she nods looking back to Jeff "We'll have to get you a new name since you're going to be living here. Jeff sounds a bit strange on the Japanese tongue. Which also brings up another point, you're going to need a communicator."

Jeff blinks "A communicator? What for?"

Botan giggles a little "Well, you want to be able to talk with everyone without lugging me around as your personal translator don't you?"

Jeff nods "Yeah, you got a point there, but there's actually something out there that can do that?"

Botan nods "Uh-huh. Though someone will have to go get it for you, you won't be able to go where you need to to get it."

Jeff cocks an eyebrow before quickly shaking his head "I'm not even going to ask, I think I've had enough happen to me today to last me a lifetime. Look I'm going to go to bed, can I go and sleep on the bed I woke up in?"

Botan turns and he can only guess asks Yusuke the question. Yusuke nods and Jeff nods back "Tell him thanks, I know that letting a complete stranger sleep in his bed can't be real high up on his list of things he likes to do. I'll see you in the morning then, right?" Botan nods and Jeff makes his way to the room, crawling in and flopping down on the bed, falling asleep before his head even hits the pillow.


	3. Getting Settled

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Don't sue me.

Chapter 3: A New Life

Jeff halfway awakens the next morning to the feeling of something cold being placed in his ear. He sleepily waves a hand around it, in an attempt to make it go away, which it does, for a moment before coming back again. He groans and tries to turn over, only to find he can't. This mildly alarms him enough to nudge him a little closer to consciousness, but not enough to really wake him up, so he just tries to swat it again. He finds that he can't move his arm. His face twitches momentarily, rolling his head away from the offending cold object while once again trying to move his arm.

The result is the thing being then jammed into his ear and he feels his arms forcefully being held down while someone says "Hold still, dammit!" That was enough to snap him awake and his eyes snap open to reveal Yusuke on top of him, holding him down before he shuts them again against the offending sunlight that was pouring in the room.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" he asks, knowing full well that Yusuke can't understand.

Botan's voice comes through instead, which kind of surprises him "Hold still, I'm trying to put your translator in."

The words register in Jeff's mind and he relaxes, tipping his head to give her better access and Yusuke hops off, muttering something or other to himself. Finally Botan's done and steps back to inspect her work "Alright, it looks like it's good and in."

Jeff sits up and rubs his head, yawning a bit before looking over at Botan, a bit annoyed "Is there any reason why you couldn't wait until I was awake to put that in?"

Botan laughs nervously and puts a hand behind her head before saying "Yes, I could've, but I was so excited about you getting it that I thought it might be a nice surprise to find that you could understand what people where saying when you woke up."

Jeff turns to Yusuke "So, you were the one that told me to stay still?" he asks but all he gets is a blank stare.

Botan explains "Yes, he was, but he can't understand you yet, that requires this." she says, holding up a button that looks like any other button.

Jeff takes it and looks at Botan confusedly "Ookay, what do I do with this?" Botan snatches it back and carefully pins it to his shirt, making him blush a bit "Hey, get off, would ya'?"

Finally Botan sits back and smiles "There you go, one communicator all good and done."

Jeff goes over to the window and uses the reflection off of it to look. There, barely noticeable if you weren't looking for it, was the button on the inside lip of his shirt collar. "Thanks."

He mutters before turning to Yusuke once again "So, you can understand me now?"

Yusuke nodded, smiling and giving him the thumbs up, "Yep, every word finally. To be honest it was getting kinda annoying to not be able to understand you."

Jeff laughs "Yeah, the same to you buddy. So where do we go from here? I rather not impose on you guys by staying here longer then necessary, does that Hiei guy have a place? I figure since he brought me here that he should deal with taking care of me until I can get a job or something and make it on my own."

Yusuke scoffs "Feh, I doubt that Hiei has ever had a place to live that wasn't a tree or cave or something, and even if he did, he's not the sort of guy that takes care of anyone but himself."

Jeff frowns "Well, could you at least tell me where I could find him? I've got a bone or two to pick with him as you can imagine."

Yusuke waves his hands in front of him "Woah, woah, woah there buddy. No offense but you wouldn't last five minutes against Hiei. Come on, don't let him get ya' down! Let's go around town, get you introduced to the local folk and such. Guys can be pretty rough around here so we'll just make sure that they know you're with me."

Jeff blinks "Uh, thanks, I guess. Out of curiosity, why are you doing all this for me? No offense, but you don't seem like the charitable type either"

Yusuke just smirks "What can I say, I like who I like and you I like. Besides, I'm more charitable then you give me credit for, I once gave my life to save a little kid."

Jeff cocks an eyebrow "You what?"

Yusuke looks confused but Botan recovers first "He meant he ALMOST gave his life to save a little boy. That's where we met, I helped him get back into the real world. Isn't that right, Yusuke?"

Yusuke winces before nodding "Yeah, that's right. She even helped me get an after school job, though it's more like an internship 'cause I don't get paid a dime for doing it." He says, muttering near the end.

Jeff brightens, "An after school job? Hey Botan, you think you could hook me up? But something that pays, I can't make it on my own without cash."

Botan looks a little nervous before saying "I'll do my best, but before that happens you should get acquainted with the town. You can stay here for a few days, considering that Yusuke's mom's going to be out for at least another 3 days. Well, I'll see you two boys later, you've got a town to look over and I've got business to attend to. Well, ta-ta for now boys. See you later!" All the while pushing the two out of the room and out the door before slamming it in their faces.

Jeff just stares while Yusuke pounds on the door "Botan! Open the door! This is my freaking house for crying out loud!" he does that for about five minutes before finally giving up and turning to Jeff "Well, I guess that means we're going to walk around town. Come on, I'll show you all the favorite hang spots and the places where not even my name'll protect ya'"

Jeff nods and starts to follow him, walking beside him and chatting about this and that, talking about the life he'd been forced to leave behind and Yusuke talked about his life a bit and his half-brother that he'd met in some kind of fighting tournament. (A.N. I'm making this after Yusuke finds out about his dad. I haven't actually seen that far in the series, but I know about it. He and the gang are around 16 or 17 now)

After an hour or two of walking around they meet up with Kuwabara and his flunkies and start looking for something to keep their interest "Man," Kuwabara complains "everything is so damn boring now. Can't even get a decent fight anymore, even with the college punks! Makes me wish we weren't so damn strong."

Jeff cocks his head "You mean you guys actually used to go around LOOKING for fights? Back home I'd spend a good deal of my day AVOIDING them."

The others look at him like he just dropped down from some distant planet or something "Why would you avoid fights?" asked Kuwabara.

Jeff just shrugs, "I used to fight whenever someone would get on my nerves, but then I started getting in trouble with the principal, and I got thrown off the track team. That combined with my mom crying and wondering where she went wrong was enough to get me to stop. 'Course, there were still a lot of people that wanted to take advantage of my turning over a new leaf, but I couldn't kick their butts without having my mom get worried or Johnny breathin' down my neck about messin' up my life."

Yusuke and the others nod, as if they at least buy the story and don't push the subject anymore. After some more walking they are suddenly stopped by Kurama, who drops out of a tree. Jeff yelps in surprise a little but Yusuke and Kuwabara just start forward like they were going off alone to talk about something with Kurama. They stop when Kurama holds up a hand "No, don't worry, we can talk about this here, it has to do with our new friend here."

Jeff cocks an eyebrow "Me? What has to do with me?"

Kurama just shakes his head "Botan asked me just to find you and tell you to head to Yusuke's place. She, Hiei, Koenma and I will be waiting for your arrival." he says before disappearing again.

Jeff nearly bolts back to the house "Finally! I'll be able to ask the guy some questions!" But Yusuke grabs his wrist.

"Woah buddy, no rush. They're not going anywhere. Besides, if you fly off the handle again he's just gonna leave, trust me." He looks over his shoulder at Kuwabara's flunkies "Hey you guys, see you later." To which they just wave and watch as the three make their way back to Yusuke's.

When they get there they're greeted by the sight of Botan sitting in a chair to the right of the room, facing the opposite wall, Hiei and Kurama leaning against different walls and right in front of them a boy no older then himself sitting in a chair, brown eyes looking at him through short wavy hair like his, only brown. The thing that really throws Jeff off is the light blue pacifier in the teen's mouth, the abbreviation of Jr. that seems tattooed on his forehead and his peculiar outfit that consists of baggy white pants and shirt, a purplish blue thing that Jeff could only identify as looking like a sleeveless dress, a red scarf around his neck and strange brown shoes.

"Greetings." the boy says before motioning for the boys to take a seat, Jeff directly in front of him and the other where ever they feel like it.

"So," the boy that Jeff assumes is the 'Koenma' guy that Kurama had mentioned starts "I see that we have a new friend here. Let me just say welcome abroad and my sincerest apologies for you're unceremonious jerk from your life. I'm sure that if I'd known earlier, I'd have made Hiei be a bit more gentle about it." This got a 'Feh' from the said occupant of the room.

Koenma spared a glance at him before moving on. "Nevertheless, what's done is done and can't be undone, we can only make due with what we have. Botan has informed me that you want a job and considering that in a way I am responsible for Hiei I feel obligated to give you one. It's the least that I can do, along with provide you with shelter and food until you can start standing on your own feet. I've taken the liberty of transferring you to Yusuke's school and sent a letter to your mother and brother informing them that you were chosen for a new exchange program but due to some bad timing on the program's part you had to leave immediately. I figured you wouldn't want them to know you'd pretty much been kidnapped." He says with a twinkle in his eye.

Jeff blinks "Uh, I really don't know what to say sir. Thank you of course but, everything's coming and changing so quickly I...." He clears his throat, trying to think of what to say before simply asking "So, what will my job be?"

Koenma nods and Jeff couldn't be sure but he thought he saw Hiei smirk out of the corner of his eye, but that didn't make any sense. Why would Hiei care a flip about how he reacted? He shook his head at the thought as Koenma speaks "Yes, you will be my personal assistant, setting up appointments, doing paperwork that I'm to busy to do and such."

Jeff nods "Okay, that sounds straight forward enough. So, where do you work anyways? It's gonna be kinda hard to show up for work if I don't know where to go" he laughs.

Koenma chuckles and hands him a slip of paper "Here's the address, considering that tomorrow's Saturday I'll expect to see you at nine sharp. Alright...?" saying it in a way that makes it clear that he's asking for what to call him.

Jeff takes the slip and replies "Jeff."

Which only serves to make Koenma frown. "Hmm...that won't do. Let's see, I didn't know your name so I had one of my other assistants pick one out for you. Let's see here, where did those transfer papers go? Ah yes, here we go, you're new name is Kei. Well that's nice and simple. Well, I fear I must get going, I've got many other pressing matters to deal with. Good day and see you in the morning. Botan, if you would please come with me I believe you have a job to do as well."

With this Botan quickly gets up and follows him as he walks out of the door, Koenma only sparing one last glance at Jeff while Botan waves "Well, see you guys later." before both leave the group's sight.

Jeff absently waves good-bye to her before looking at the address that was neatly written on the piece of paper in his hands. The only real material thing that signals his start of an entirely new life. One that didn't seem to be turning out to badly, but was forced upon him all the same. Forced by the short man that was now staring at him once again, like he's examining him or something, waiting to see how he reacts to each new experience. Frankly, it's kinda getting on his nerves. He tossed a glare Hiei's way and spits out "What?"

Hiei just glares back and throws out a 'Feh' before looking out the window. Kurama sighs and says "Well, as it seems that everything's been taken care of, I'll be going. Mother will be worried if I'm not home before sunset and I live across town."

Jeff nods as acknowledgement of the boy's leaving and barely registers the disappearance of Hiei soon after. Kuwabara looks at him before turning to Yusuke "What's up with him Urameshi?" Yusuke shrugs before going over to him and walking behind him. A few moments of nothing before a fist is brought down on top of Jeff's head.

Or at least that's where it was going. Jeff heard the wind flapping against Yusuke's sleeve and dodges the blow, rolling over the side of the chair and coming to a crouch facing Yusuke, who hadn't expected the dodge, so lost his balance and is now toppled over the chair, "What the hell were you trying to do, give me a concussion?" he yells at the topsy-turvy boy who is just now righting himself.

Yusuke ignores the question and simply stares at him before saying "How'd you do that?"

Jeff cocks an eyebrow "Do what?"

Yusuke regains his composure before asking "How'd you dodge that, I barely saw my own fist and you dodged it like it was going in slow motion."

Jeff shrugs "I don't know I just did. What I want to know is why the hell you were trying to break my skull open!"

This time it's Yusuke's turn to shrug, "It looked like you were in some kind of weird trance or something, so I figured that a good knock to the head would get you out of it."

Jeff frowns and then just sighs before getting up and sitting down again in a nearby chair. "Yeah, well next time think of a gentler way alright?"

Yusuke shrugs "Whatever. I ain't promisin' nothing. So, 'Kei'," he says, putting Jeff's new name to use "you gonna just sulk there in that chair or are you gonna do something?"

Jeff cocks an eyebrow and looks at him "You got any ideas?"

Yusuke smirks and nods "I might. Though if you're to chicken, I'll understand. You don't like fighting after all."

Jeff leans forward a bit, sitting a bit straighter and still having his eyebrow cocked. "Is that a challenge?"

Yusuke continues to smirk "Maybe. Why, momma's little boy still a sucker for danger?"

Jeff snorts "I'm not a sucker for anything, and I'm NOT a momma's boy. What you have in mind?" he asks, his testosterone flowing through his veins as strongly as it would any other teenage guy, making him just as easy to sway as well.

Yusuke smiles mischievously "I knew that'd get you. Come on, I'll show you. Kuwabara, you comin' or not?" he says, causing the other boy to snap out of whatever stupor he'd been in and nod, getting up and following the two out.

Before they leave, Jeff glances back into the house that had become his temporary home. It seems so strange that, moreso then the fact that everything he believed about how he thought his life was always going to be was obviously being rearranged, is that deep down he didn't think it was that strange. It was like some part of him had always expected this, or at least was ready for it. 'Oh well,' he thinks 'no time for weirdo thoughts like that. Right now I guess it's better to just ride the waves rather then fight them.' With that he closes the door and catches up with two of the only souls that he knew in the least that were within a thousand of him, deciding silently to immerse himself in this new life of his until he can sit and make sense of everything.


	4. Starting the Job

Chapter 4: Starting the Job

Jeff looks once again at the crumpled piece of paper, making sure he hadn't misread it for about the fiftieth time. The address was the same. 'I was expecting a lot of things, but this, I was not' he says to himself as he looks up at the building. He'd found it without too much trouble, and ten minutes to spare, but that didn't mean he was happy about it. Things started out fine, he'd found out the address was in the business district from a map in Yusuke's place, that made sense, seeing as it was a business. Everything turned for the worse when the cab he'd taken dropped him off. Surrounded by tall, pristine skyscrapers, this building was decidedly not tall or pristine. It reminded Jeff of one of the buildings he'd seen on the wrong side of the tracks back home. It was obviously old, run-down, and made a starch contrast to the other buildings, as if it were clinging to the memory of yesteryear. Jeff sighs chanting inwardly 'Just think about the money, just think about the money.' as he marches inside.

He's surprised once he does, then inside didn't look nearly as bad as the outside. It's not the Hamilton or anything, but it's still pretty nice. White tile floor and polished wooden walls welcome him in, as well as a familiar smiling face behind the front desk. He smiles back and walks up to her, "Hey Botan, I'm here, right on time. So, where am I working and what do I do?"

Botan smiles at him before pulling out a clipboard with a couple pieces of paper on it and a pen. "You have to sign in first. Then you're going up to the fifth floor using those stairs over there. There should be someone up there to help you, if not, just go to the office at the end of the hall, that's Mr. Koenma's. He'll be more then happy to tell you where to go exactly and what to do." she explains as Jeff proceeds to sign in.

He nods and says a short "Thanks.", smiling back at her before heading up the stairs.

He reaches the fifth floor and opens the door, peeking his head into the adjoining hallway. He whistles, this place was deceptively big. In front of him was a hallway with a white tile, almost light blue, floor with a red carpet going down the middle, light green walls with red banners with gold fringe, and a very, very high ceiling. It made you think there was royalty working here or something. He shakes his head and starts down the hallway, the echoes of his footfalls muffled slightly by the carpet. Seeing no one else around, he walks to the end of the hallway, gawking slightly at the tall purple doors that stood before him. 'Geez, this guy doesn't like to show off that he has money.' he thinks sarcastically before knocking lightly on the doors, wanting as little echo as possible.

A few seconds of waiting affords him a quick look around, and he notices a desk nearby, equipped with a phone, file organizers, and not much else. Before he'd been so awed by the size of the doors he hadn't even noticed it. 'Oh well,' he thinks 'might as well still tell him I'm here, there might be some stuff that I need the specifics on'

Further thoughts are interrupted by Koenma's already recognizable, if a bit annoying, voice irritably answering "Who is it?"

Jeff clears his throat, suddenly nervous for some reason, "It's um...," he says, forgetting what his new name was for a moment before it rushes back to him. "its Kei, sir. I'm here to start my job."

A moment of silence before a string of muttered curses can be heard followed by some scurrying around. Jeff cocks an eyebrow but inwardly chuckles 'The guy must be a clutterbug and didn't expect me to be on time.' He holds his head a bit higher, knowing, or at least hoping that this would leave a good impression on his boss, who was apparently used to people being late. He opens the door when he hears Koenma give permission to enter and quickly looks around, inwardly whistling. If this Koenma guy was messy, he did a very good sweep job, the place was immaculate. Jeff walks up to a little ways in front of Koenma's large desk, which, unlike the room itself, was pretty cluttered with papers of every sort imaginable. He could already tell he had his work cut out for him as he regarded the teen that peered at him from behind the desk, hands neatly folded in front of him.

"Good to see that you're on time Kei. Most of the time when I tell someone to be somewhere they arrive at least a half-hour afterwards. Somehow they say it's fashionable to be late." Koenma sighs exasperatedly "It's nice to find someone who knows the value of punctuality."

Jeff smiles, deciding to go for brownie points while he can, "Well, Koenma sir, you were generous enough to give me this job, I figured the least I could do is show up on time."

Koenma smiles "Yes, it was mighty generous of me wasn't it?"

Jeff couldn't believe that he'd found his boss' Achilles' heel so quickly, and stores the little bit of info in his memory for later use before replying "Yes sir, it was. Now, what will you have me do? I am at your complete disposal sir." he says with a smile

He lived to regret those simple words, it wasn't even the end of his first day and he already had learned to be careful what he said around his new boss. Now he's stuck behind a mountain of paperwork that he has little to no hope of even getting partially through today. He hardly even reads what is on each paper, simply stamping it with the official seal that Koenma has given him and tossing it in the 'out' tray. He doesn't even notice the footsteps reverberating against the walls or the figures that are approaching him until they stand directly in front of him and the taller one clears his throat to gain his attention. He barely glances up before stamping another paper and then takes a double take of the two people in front of him.

The taller one is clad in a long dark green trench coat that reaches to below the desk and a baseball cap that looked like it was barely keeping his bright red hair under it. Bright blue eyes laugh down him with a twinkle of mischief and for some reason he thinks of Yusuke when he sees them. The other is a good couple of inches shorter, is dressed a bit more strangely in a blue body suit that looked purposely ripped in some spots to show what Jeff could only think of as fishing net underneath. This man has blue eyes as well but his are cold as ice and stare at him from behind his light green bangs that swoop harshly over one side. Jeff wonders idly why his bangs are light green while the rest of his hair is a light blue before his thoughts are brought to a halt by the speaking of the taller of the two. "Hey there mister, yer' new around here aren't 'cha? We're here to see that there Koenma bloke don'cha know? Can ya' tell 'im that we're here? I'm Jin and this 'ere's Touya." He says with a thick Scottish accent that Jeff's translator could barely make understandable.

Jeff nods and presses the intercom button to tell Koenma that they're here before hearing his boss' reply of "Ack! Is it that time already?! Give me a few minutes!"

Jeff cocks an eyebrow at the machine before sighing and giving the two an apologetic smile "If you could just wait a few moments, he'll be with you momentarily. If you feel like sitting, there are a few chairs over there." He says, nodding to aforementioned chairs before going back to his work. This time though, something was nagging at him 'Jin, Jin, I KNOW that name from somewhere...hmm...I wonder' he thinks as he puts the seal down and looks over at the redheaded man. "Hey," he says, gaining their attention, "would you happen to know a Yusuke Urameshi?" he inquires curiously.

His suspicions are confirmed when Jin's eyes light up and nods eagerly "Aye, he's my own flesh and blood that he is! How do you 'bout Urameshi?"

Jeff smiles "He's a friend of mine. I'm actually staying at his house until I can get a place of my own."

Jin smiles and slaps his knee heartily "Well slap me down and call me Suzy, isn't it just the strangest of t'ings? It musta been fate that we met that it was. How is Urameshi these'a days? Seems ah' haven't seen him in the time of at least three moons' comin' and goin's."

Jeff smiles, glad to take a brief respite from his work to chat, and replies "He's pretty good, a bit on the violent and impulsive side though. Yesterday we were at the arcade downtown with Kuwabara playing the fighting game and I think he nearly broke the joystick off in a particularly close fight." He laughs, remembering at how Yusuke's face had looked when he saw the cracked controller.

Jin laughs as well and Touya smirks "Ya' I see the ol' firecracker hasn't lost any of his pop."

The conversation was unfortunately cut short by Koenma's voice coming over the intercom "Alright, send them in."

Jeff nods to the two giving them the go ahead. They get up and walk to the door, Touya pushing it open and walking in without a second glance but Jin stops and offers his hand to Jeff "It's a pleasure makin' your acquaintance mister. What's yer' name? I have a rule against callin' friends by formalities."

Jeff laughs and takes the hand, giving him a firm shake while saying, "Call me Kei. And the pleasure's all mine, I promise you. Yusuke told me a lot about you, I'm glad to meet you in person. I hope that we see each other again."

Jin smiles and nods "Ah'd say there's a fair chance of that, seein' as ol' pacifier-breath wants me an' Touya to come around this time every day. See you in the morrow Kei. Tell Yusuke that I send him my regards." he says before walking in, hurried by what Jeff assumed was Touya's voice saying "Hurry up out there Jin, I rather not be here all day."

Jeff replies with a quick "I'll be sure to." before the door closes and he goes back to his work. Maybe this job wouldn't be so bad after all if he got to know people like Jin.

A.N. I got my first 2 reviews . This is my first fic so I'm kinda just learning as I go, but I'd like to thank you to for your support! I'll try to update as quickly as possible without letting the story go stale . Well, it's almost 11:30 and I'm bushed. Much love!


	5. Vague Answers Lead to More Questions

Disclaimer: Just cause I forgot it last chapter doesn't make it any less true. Yoshihiro Togashi owns Yusuke and crew, not me, so back off. Glares at lawyers sneaking up behind me I do, however own Jeff and Toma-su, as well as this cute little plush Jin doll waves it around Isn't it cute? Ahem, anyways, on with the story!

Chapter 5: Vague Answers Lead to More Questions

Jeff heaves a giant sigh of relief while stretching his legs. It was over, his first day as a working man. He'd gotten a good way through the papers, considering the size of the pile, and all day he'd been looking forward to just being able to relax. He turns on the intercom and says his good-byes to Koenma, figuring that the guy was still pretty busy. Just a little while ago a big burly guy with a blue mohawk/ponytail and a thick Aussie accent had come in and he hadn't left yet from what Jeff had seen. Koenma dismisses him shortly even though he's already walking down the hall.

He pops his head out the door on the ground floor and smiles when he sees Botan still behind the desk. He walks up to her and nods "Hey Botan, time for me to clock out." he says with a smile.

Botan smiles back and nods, getting the clipboard out and giving him a pen, she watches as he signs out "So, Kei, how did your first day go?"

Jeff smiles and shrugs, "Eh, it was okay, I don't think I've ever stamped so many papers in my life though."

Botan laughs, "Yes, Mister Koenma certainly does have a lot of paperwork to do. Oh, and here," she says, handing him a piece of paper. "Mister Koenma phoned down here while you were on your way down to remind me. This is your new address. If you have any problems or the cab driver is taking to long, just come back here. I'll be more then glad to show you to it."

Jeff smiles and nods "Thanks Botan, I'll do that. So, Yusuke, Kuwabara and me are planning on going to the arcades later this afternoon. Can I count on you to be there?"

Botan quickly nods "Sure, I wouldn't miss it. You know, I'm not a half bad racer." She giggles, remembering the time she beat Yusuke and how he'd nearly gotten them thrown out.

Jeff laughs, merely because her laughter seems infectious "Well, we'll just have to see about that. See ya' later Botan." he waves before walking out the door.

It took half an hour, but he finally found it. Now that he had, he couldn't believe it took so long, it was just a couple blocks over, but the cab driver had taken what had to be the longest possible route. To show his lack of appreciation, he hadn't given the guy any tip. He quickly makes his way up to the apartment number that was printed on the paper, eager to see what it looks like.

When he gets there, he freezes, there, staring directly back at him while leaning against the wall, is Toma-su. He's wearing an outfit that reminds him of Hiei's, only white. Jeff tenses before saying slowly "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Toma-su remains quiet for a short while, looking Jeff over from head to toe. When their eyes lock Jeff feels...something. Like a small tug on the back of his brain. It's as if something clicks when their eyes make contact. Jeff sees Toma-su quirk an eyebrow and he does the same "What? I have something on my face or something?"

Toma-su chuckles, rolling his eyes "No dimwit, you do not have anything on your face. I just can't believe that you and I are supposed to be connected."

Jeff furrows his brow "Connected? What do you mean? And for that matter of fact, why did you and that Hiei guy even bring me here? I want answers and I want them NOW."

Toma-su scoffs "You're hardly in a position to demand anything, human. All will be revealed when the time is right. And, if I get my way, any connection that we have will be cancelled just as soon. For now, I just wanted to see for myself if we even did really have a connection. Until we meet again, fare well Tomu." With that Toma-su is suddenly at the window on the other side of the room and has it open. A short wave and he disappears, a white blur out the window.

It takes a second before Jeff can break from the shock that has overtaken him, and he runs to the window, looking in all directions. Nothing. 'What the hell was that all about?' he wonders silently, pulling his head in and sliding down the wall, holding his head in his hands 'What the hell is going on? Why'd he call me Tomu? What's this connection he kept on going on about?' He wonders for a few moments before something Toma-su said registers 'And just what did he mean by 'human'?'


	6. A Noteworthy Race and What Was That Abou...

Disclaimer: If you think that I own Yusuke or any of the gang other then Jeff and Toma-su, you obviously haven't been reading these things.

Chapter 6: A Noteworthy Race and What Was That About?!

Later that afternoon Jeff goes to the arcades as planned earlier, deciding that if he was going to be confused, he might as well have fun. He meets up with the others and they commence in the age-old ritual of letting the machines eat their money. He has a great time, he plays a shooting game with Yusuke, slightly amazed at the boy's accuracy, and quite a few fighting games with all of them, as they set up several tournaments between the 4 of them. Then, last but not least, he holds true to his word as he challenges Botan to a race.

She smiles as she slips in the seat, putting in the coins in sync with him and choosing her car, etc. keeping her eyes on the screen as she says "Be warned, I may stink at fighting games, but I'm the queen of speed." She giggles a bit, making him smile.

He raises an eyebrow "Oh yeah? Well we'll just have to see if we can relieve you of that lofty title Your Majesty." He chuckles, hearing the others cheer behind him. Apparently Botan has beaten both of them before, because they seem adamant about him getting revenge for them. He smirks as the red light comes into view "Sorry guys, but this one's just for me." he says before flooring it.

The two boys behind them watch as they swerve around curves, soon leaving the digital opponents in the dust to battle over third place. Their eyes widen as they continue to watch, Kuwabara mumbling "Oh my gosh, he's keeping up! I got left behind way before this!" as the two racers zoom across the finish line, ending lap 1.

Botan glances over at Jeff, smirking a bit "You're pretty good, for a beginner."

Jeff laughs as he swerves gracefully around yet another bend, eyebrows furrowed slightly in concentration "You know, I was just about to say the same to you."

Botan raises an eyebrow, seemingly almost a different person when behind the wheel "Oh really? So then I guess you wouldn't mind," she moves effortlessly around one of the stragglers before continuing "if I kicked it up a notch?"

Jeff smiles "I thought you'd never ask."

With that they simultaneously reached down on the gear stick and pressed the turbo button, each trying to use the extra boost in speed to get ahead of the other. Neither succeeds and the race continues in the same heated manner, each trying to get one up on the other, using turbos whenever they got them to try and get ahead. It was neck and neck down to the very end. Suddenly, in the last five seconds of the race, they both receive a turbo. They hardly glance at each other before they slam on the turbo button, sliding to a finish several yards beyond the finish line. The screen blared at him. Second place by less then two milliseconds. He breathes a sigh and hears the two behind him moan before getting out of his seat, turning to face Botan, who is still sitting down, and mock bows with a bit of flourish. "Your Majesty, you deserve your title and can keep it another day." He says before looking at her with a smirk "But beware, I'm not one to give up on getting to be number one. I plan to challenge you again, one day, and take the title for my own." After that he breaks down, laughing at how cheesy he sounded.

Botan giggles, then sits up straight and looks him in the eye "I look forward to our next bout, this was truly a noteworthy battle." Then she too breaks down in giggles. The other two had started before either of them when they'd heard Jeff.

After they all get themselves under control, they leave the arcade and grab something to eat at a nearby restaurant. They sit down with their meal and just hang out. Then Botan asks how Jeff likes life here so far.

Jeff smiles and looks at his cheeseburger, then sighs "It's pretty good, I mean, I've got a job, a place of my own, friends." He casts a smile around the table "But, to be honest, I think I'm kinda homesick. Not to mention one of the guys that brought me here, not Hiei, the other guy, showed up at my new place and just may have made things more confusing, if that's even possible."

Yusuke tilts his head "The other one?"

Jeff nods "Yeah, when I was taken there were two guys. One was Hiei; the other was this guy named Toma-su. What's really weird is that he looks just like me, only he's got just about as much personality as Hiei."

Everything went quiet before Botan gasps, her eyes dilating slightly. Everyone looks to her while Jeff asks "What, do you know the guy? Can you tell me who or what he is?"

Yusuke and Kuwabara's gazes return to Jeff "What do you mean 'what he is'?" Yusuke asks, looking uncharacteristically stiff.

Jeff tries to shrug it off while replying "Well, he shows up, talking about how we're connected somehow, then he leaves. Before he did though, and I know this is going to sound really weird, but he called me 'human'. Like he wasn't or something. Weird huh?"

He can't help but notice that Yusuke looks distracted as he mutters "Yeah, weird." Like something has clicked in his head and he's thinking about it.

Jeff raises an eyebrow and swipes a hand in front of Yusuke's face "Yo', Earth to Urameshi! What is it? Do you know something? 'Cause if you do then I'd really like to know. This guy's messing with me. I'd like to know what I'm dealing with."

Yusuke shakes his head but still looks serious "It's nothing, really." He glances at his wrist "Well look at that, it's getting late. We should all be getting home." Botan and Kuwabara nod and get up, Yusuke and Kuwabara just walking off while Botan stays just long enough to say "Thank you for this afternoon Kei. It was really quite nice. I hope we can do it again sometime." Before hurrying off after them, leaving Jeff sitting alone.

'What the hell was that all about?' he wonders 'And why don't I feel like they're telling me everything?'

Oh, it looks like Jeff's getting suspicious! That can't be good, what's going to happen next? Honestly, even I couldn't tell you, I just write as it comes to me. R&R please, and I'll give you all imaginary Jin plushies! hugs hers tightly Isn't it cute?


	7. Research

Disclaimer: Do I really have to keep doing this? Okay people, aside from Jeff and Toma-su, I don't own anything except my pride, dignity, and my Jin plushie!

A.N. Alright, just a little note before we get this ball rolling. This chapter's not going to have Jeff in it whatsoever, it's going to be just Yusuke and co. figuring out how to handle this new information that they got from him. Anywho, with that said, on with the story!

Chapter 7: Research

Yusuke marches towards his house, slightly leaned forward in the position he took when he was thinking and didn't care if anything got in his way. Kuwabara was walking in the same position a little behind him and Botan was walking quickly, trying to keep up. They reach Yusuke's house and all go in, locking the door and going into his room before saying anything. Yusuke turns to Botan and says "Alright Botan, I know you know something more than what you're letting on. Spill it, now." In that voice of his that says that you better just do as you're told.

Botan sighs, leaning against the wall and looking at the floor before saying "Well, it's probably nothing, but I remember a few weeks back when I was checking up on Hiei, you know he never goes to his check-ins, I found him in the woods and it looked like he was training with someone. As soon as they sensed me the other one disappeared, but I didn't mention it, figuring it was none of my business. When Kei mentioned his 'other guy' I remembered. The other figure I saw had the same hair color and the same hair style as him."

Kuwabara scowls "You think this guy could be a demon?"

Yusuke rolls his eyes "Well duh Sherlock, if he was training with Hiei of course he's a demon, and a pretty strong one at that. Botan, do you think Koenma would know anything about this guy?"

Botan shrugs "Like I said, I didn't mention it before, but if anyone does, he's our best bet. Though I hate to disturb him this late, he can get quite cranky right before bedtime. Maybe I could get Ogre to let us into the database."

Yusuke nods "Alright, let's get going then, the sooner we find out about this guy, the sooner we can find him and get him to stop harassing Kei. The guy's got enough on his plate, he doesn't need to know anymore than what he already does. I still can't believe Koenma hired him to sit right outside his office, and he calls me brazen." He says, slightly sarcastic.

With that they're off to the Spirit Realm. Luckily, Ogre had just been locking up and it only takes a little persuasion from the trio to be let in, even going so far as to escort them to the database, telling them to lock up when they were done.

Yusuke grumbles as he looks through yet another stack of files. "Damn Koenma, he can find plenty of time to stamp papers, why can't he stamp a paper so that all this stuff is put in a computer database?"

Kuwabara, grumpy from having to leaf through his own pile, irritably snaps "Shut up Urameshi. Less yappin' and more lookin' the quicker we get through this the better."

Botan remains quiet, breezing through her portion, apparently she'd had to do this kind of thing before several times, because for every one file Yusuke or Kuwabara got done, she did five. Suddenly she gasps, causing the others to look up from their work. "What?" Kuwabara asks, "You find him?"

Botan shakes her head "No, but I did find something, probably even better then his file. I was reading through this report on demon physiology and I found something that may explain a lot about everything. Why Hiei is so interested in Kei, what connection this 'Toma-su' fellow has with him, and who they are to each other." Intrigued, the others come over and read over Botan's shoulder.

Two sets of eyes dilate quickly as Yusuke mutters "No way." and Kuwabara just gulps.

They look at each other before nodding in silent agreement. They needed to find this Toma-su, and Hiei, quickly. If they didn't, Kei's life would be turned even more upside down then what it already was. They all get up and rush out, all trying to think of a way to find the elusive koorime and his training partner, leaving the files strewn across the room, and one particular file wide open.

(A.N. So you guys, you wanna know what was in that file that got them so worked up? Huh, huh, huh, do ya', do ya'? lol, sorry, I'm hopped up on caffeine lol. Alright here it is.)

Demon Energy Regulation: A natural and necessary process for some varieties of demons that occurs every 50 to 100 years, depending on the species. This process involves the expelling and concentration of a portion of said demon's energy. After a short time, this energy metamorphisizes into an actual life form. Usually unable to cope with the amount of energy inside it's body, the life form splits into two parts, one demon, one human. Why a human manifests itself from pure demon energy remains unknown, but nevertheless, it happens. After the separation, the original demon can choose to abandon the human counterpart, but usually leaves it to be claimed by other humans. However, if the bond that is held between the two halves is not recognized and accepted by the time eighteen years pass, then both will cease to exist as the bond is broken. Just how the bond is recognized and accepted is unknown to all except for those who go through with it, but most of the time it seems that the human counterpart becomes part of the demon, never to appear again.

A.N. Bum bum BUM! Uh oh, what'll the gang do! It seems like a no win situation at this point, but don't worry! I'm sure everything will turn out for the best in the end! I've already got an idea of what could happen, but I'm not telling 'cause that would ruin things! Well, next chappie things will be back to normal, well as normal as they get in the YYH world. Well, see you next time, R&R please!


	8. A Restless Sleep

Disclaimer: sighs really, this is getting dull, gets glared at by many many lawyers yeah yeah yeah, I know, I know. Look folks, I don't own anyone or anything in this fic, except the idea, Jeff and Toma-su. So don't sue me, you wouldn't get anything anyways.

Chapter 8: Restless Sleep

Jeff returns home and flips on the light, flinging his coat on the nearby chair. What happened earlier at the restaurant is still bugging him. The way that he mentioned the weird stuff that had happened, and all of a sudden it was like he was sitting at the table with three totally different people then the ones he'd gotten to know over the last couple of days. Okay, maybe not TOTALLY different, but still, the look in Yusuke's eyes when he told him what that 'Toma-su' guy had said is still in his head.

Jeff shrugs, he was probably just tired. Today had been just a little stressful to put things lightly. After a good night's sleep, things would seem a lot more sensible. He chuckles at himself, 'Well, it's not like things can get any more screwy.' He yawns before heading to the bedroom, deciding that there isn't much else that he can do. He flips off his shoes and clicks off the light, flopping facedown on the pillow. After a while, he drifts into sleep.

He opens his eyes, but there's some kind of light obscuring his vision. The pale red light isn't really overpowering; it's more like a curtain, kept in place by an unseen rod. He looks around as much as possible and sees that beyond the curtain of light there is only pitch-blackness. Looking straight up though, he notices two red orbs of fiery ice. He then realizes that the orbs are eyes, attached to a body that seems to tower over him. Indeed, the body is so huge that the thing is actually holding him in one of its arms without any difficulty. He gulps a little and the curtain dissipates, leaving nothing between him and the thing that was still mostly in shadow. He sees the thing move it's lips, but no sound comes out. A bright flash of light comes over him and he blacks out. The last thing he sees is what looks like a glowing third eye.

When he opens his eyes again, the scenery is very different. For one thing, there was a lot more light. He snaps his eyes shut before opening them more slowly. He looks around and tries to move, only to find his body unresponsive. He panics a bit and looks around. What he sees only confuses him more. Bars of wood lie what seems like feet away from his head. Beyond the bars he sees an oddly familiar looking house, the door to the room he's in is open and he can see into what seems to be the kitchen. "So, you're awake."

Jeff jolts inwardly at the sound and tries to look around to find its source. He looks directly above him and would gape if he could. That was him standing there, looking about five years old and yet strangely disproportioned. Then he realizes. This 'him's' head was twice the size of his own. Seeing that he was unable to say anything, the look alike scoffs a bit "I can't believe we used to be one and the same. Well, see you later." With that, the look-alike turns around and walks out silently, only at the last minute noticed by a small boy, no older then three, that came out of the kitchen. The boy stares at the look-alike before running over to his wooden prison and peering in. After that, the boy runs into the kitchen, and somehow Jeff can hear what he says "Mommy! Mommy! I just saw a big Jeffy walk right out the door!"

A female voice answers with a sigh "Yes Johnny, I'm sure you did. Now go wash up, Mommy's almost done with dinner."

If they could've, Jeff's eyes would've widened to the size of dinner plates. Things finally made a little sense, though really all it did was confuse him more. This was his house! That was his brother and mom! And that boy must have been Toma-su! But why was he there? What did he mean by 'we used to be one and the same'? The bright light came again but this time he stays aware. He sees countless nights where he'd see a flicker of a shadow in a tree outside, or a flash of color out of the corner of his eye at school. What did it all mean? He somehow knew he was dreaming, but the dream was far to real for it just to be a simple dream. What was his mind trying to tell him? It was frustrating beyond all words, to know that you know something important, and yet, be unable to reach at it. Suddenly the flickers stop on one single image. A very recent one. The image where he had seen Hiei and Toma-su stand side-by-side for the first time. This time though it seems as if, instead of just cornering him, their very presence was cutting him off from the life that he knew and enjoyed. Blinded by confusion, frustration and anger, he charges them, only to be consumed by the light again, one word being pronounced loudly and clearly in his head. 'Rememeber.'

Jeff sits straight up, breathing heavily. He looks around cautiously; almost afraid of what he would see. He is back in his room. He takes a couple of steadying breaths before looking at the clock that lays on the nightstand nearby. Big bold red numbers glared the time 3:30 right back at him.

He mentally curses before sighing and throwing the blankets that his feet at somehow gotten tangled up in off. He knows there's no way that he'll be going back to sleep for a while, so he decides 'to hell with it' and decides to take a shower. He unconsciously goes to the closet and whips the door open, almost berating himself, since it's not like he packed a suitcase or anything, but instead finds it fully stocked with school uniforms and other clothes.

He cocks his head a bit in surprise 'Huh, when Mister Koenma says he's going to take care of you, I guess he really means it.' Grabbing the first shirt and pants he saw that weren't part of a school uniform he goes around and gathers the rest of what he'll need, almost getting slightly ticked. 'Geez, I hope he doesn't expect me to work off my gratitude, I'll be working for him forever!'

He sighs, then goes into the bathroom and gets his shower ready. Even as he does all this, a portion of his mind still lingers on the dream. 'Did it really mean anything? And if yes, what?' It wanders back to a little earlier today 'Today I'm going to find out what the others know, if it'll help me in the least, I deserve to know!'


	9. The Silent Treatment and Another View

Disclaimer: Alright you guys, if you think I own anything in this besides the idea, Jeff, and Toma-su, you haven't been paying attention.

Chapter 9: Silent Treatment, and Another Point of View

At 9 a.m. Jeff finds himself standing once again in front of the building that he now calls 'work'. He knows it's Sunday, but no one had really given him a schedule, so he had decided earlier to play it safe and come in anyways. At least then a little something would've come from his rude early awakening.

He walks in and sees Botan, once again, behind the desk, smiling away. He almost smiles back, before remembering that he's determined to get some answers, and she seems like his best bet from how she reacted last night at the restaurant. So, instead, he puts on a straight face, nodding at her as she says her chipper good morning.

She frowns a little when he doesn't reply, but gets out the pad to sign in all the same. She tries to start a conversation a couple times, but he keeps his lips zipped. He simply signs in before turning to the staircase and walking to it. When he's there he softly says "Botan, after work we need to talk." And then he's gone.

Botan can't help but wonder as she watches him disappear. 'What happened? I know that Yusuke, Kuwabara and I were a little conspicuous last night with our sudden departure, but certainly he can't be so upset to warrant that.'

She sighs, thinking back to last night. They had searched for Hiei and this 'Toma-su' character everywhere they could think of, but couldn't find hide nor hair of either of them. 'Poor Jeff' she thinks 'he doesn't even know that every second he gets closer to being eighteen, the closer he gets to death! Especially if this bond that he and Toma-su apparently have isn't resolved before then.' She shakes her head 'No, the situation is much more dire then that. He won't just die; he will cease to exist. That's worse then death. At least with death you have the chance to come back. I wonder how he would take the idea that what Hiei said is technically right. Those people that he was living with were not his real family. Not if what we found out last night and our suspicions are true. The poor guy, it's probably better if he didn't know until the last possible moment, I think.'

Meanwhile, the subject of Botan's thoughts is just arriving at his desk, groaning inwardly at the large pile of papers that was placed there. He sighs, deciding to try and get through today as quickly as possible so that he could get his answers just as quickly. He flips on the intercom and notifies Koenma that he has arrived. His boss gives him a quick greeting and several seconds of silence happen before his voice comes on the line again, this time sounding slightly hesitant "I say Kei, are you feeling alright? It might just be the speaker, but you sound horrible."

Jeff can't help but smile a little 'Is it that obvious I'm tired?' he thinks to himself before replying "I'm fine sir, just had a rough night of sleep, that's all."

Koenma's voice waits several seconds again before saying, "Alright, if you're sure that's all. Wouldn't want my assistant to be coming down with the flu or anything."

Jeff nods, before mentally slapping himself for it, "Yessir, I'm fine. Now if you wouldn't mind sir, I have a lot of paperwork to deal with."

The other line is silent so Jeff takes that as his cue to start working. He stamps papers for hours before boredom starts to team up with exhaustion and his eyelids get heavy. A few hours later, when Jin and Touya come for their daily appointment, they find a snoring Jeff asleep at his desk.

They look at each other, for a moment unsure of what to do. Then, as usual, an idea creeps its way into that mischievous head of Jin's. He smiles slyly and Touya, knowing the smile all to well, rolls his eyes and goes to sit in the chair he occupied yesterday. Still having that smile on his face, Jin sneaks around behind Jeff and, in his highest-pitch voice, yells, "What are ye' doin' sleepin' while you're on the clock! I 'ave a good mind to fire ye'!" sounding like a very, very Scottish Koenma.

The trick works nonetheless and Jeff jumps about five feet in the air, quickly starts to stamp again like the devil was on his heels "I'm sorry Mister Koenma! It won't ever happen again! I promise! Please don't..." He stops for a moment when he hears a nonstop chuckle behind him.

He slowly turns around to see two familiar blue eyes laughing down at him. Suddenly Jin finds himself tackled to the ground and several play blows being landed on him "You jerk! I thought I was gonna get fired! You scared the living daylights out of me!"

Jin just chuckles before catching Jeff's hand in one of his own, still smiling at him. "Oh come on Kei. What's a harmless joke between friends eh?"

Jeff mock-glares at him before getting up and going back to his desk "You still scared the crap out of me." He mutters before switching the intercom on "Mister Koenma, Touya and Jin are here to see you."

This is followed by the now familiar 'Ack!' and scurrying sounds, his boss never seemed to be ready for any of his meetings.

He gives the two his now mastered 'Just give him a minute' look before sitting down again, keeping a sharp eye on Jin as he sits down, smirking all the way. After he sits down, Jin puts his hands behind his head, deciding to start up a conversation with his new friend "So," he starts "we didn't really get a chance ta' talk yesterday. Where're ya' from? I t'ink I would remember seein' you around here before."

Jeff, deciding that this is as good a time as any to take a break, leans back in his chair, sighing a bit before saying "Well, actually, I'm from Florida. I just came to Japan a few days ago, which is when I met up with Botan and the rest."

Jin whistles "That's quite a'ways to come. Why in the name of St. Patrick would you come all that way?"

Jeff lets out a sad chuckle "I wasn't exactly given a choice. The last day I was in the States, I was coming home from school and got confronted by Hiei and this other guy named Toma-su. They pretty much knocked me out and the next thing I knew, I was here."

Jin frowns "That's stranger then a sober Irishman. Hiei might be a bit on tha' chilly side, but I can't imagine why he would resort to kidnapping anyone, especially a nice fella' like yourself."

Jeff shrugs "Well, he did. He took me away from everything I knew and loved, then has the gall later to say I should just forget about them, that I'll never see them again! No answers, no explanations, just 'hey, I kidnapped you and ripped you from everything you held dear. But don't feel bad, just automatically adapt to this new life and forget that you ever had a family!'"

Jin and Touya's eyes widen a bit at the outburst, this Kei had seemed like a pretty loose guy, neither had expected any of what he'd just said. Jeff takes a couple deep breaths and closes his eyes, calming himself down before saying "Sorry you two, you didn't deserve to hear that. It's just, things are starting to get to me, that's all."

Jin almost replies but is cut off when Koenma clears his voice through the intercom and says "Alright Kei, you may send them in now." To which Jeff nods them to the door. They get up and walk in to their daily meeting with Koenma. An hour or two later they come back out and say their good-byes, which are short, as Jeff tries desperately to catch up on his paperwork. Jin follows Touya down the hall, sending a glance back towards the busy form of his new friend, a frown on his face. Once they get down to the ground floor Touya just continues out the front, but Jin stops momentarily, considering something before calling to Touya "Go on wit'out me laddie. There's somethin' I want to find out." Touya simply waves his reply and continues on.

That taken care of, he turns and goes to the front desk, smiling at Botan as she says "Hello there Jin, I don't believe we've spoken much lately, what's on your mind?"

Jin shrugs "I jus' found out somethin' and wanted to try and see if I could help a poor lad out. You're still friends with that Hiei bloke right?" He notices that Botan seems to stiffen before nodding, and he raises an eyebrow at it 'Aye, seems this is a bit bigger then the ol' bloke made it sound.' "Well lassie, then maybe you can help an ol' wind demon out. What can you tell me 'bout his wantin's wit' that new lad upstairs workin' Koenma's load?"

Botan gulps, but knows from the look in Jin's eyes, one that she's seen to often in Yusuke's, that she wasn't going to get away anytime soon "Alright I'll tell you, but you have to keep quiet about it, at least until he finds out." Jin nods and Botan starts to relate the sad reality of what Jeff's life is probably going to be forced to be like in the near future.


	10. Show Him, Tell Him

Disclaimer: I OWN EVERYTHING!!!!YUSUKE, KURAMA, KOENMA, JIN, THE EIFFEL TOWER, TOKYO, MY LITTLE BROTHERS, EVERYTHING!!!! gets dragged away by nice people in a nice white coat of my very own, laughing insanely and muttering to myself, while my muse (as of yet unnamed) pops up, shaking head I think all those disclaimers finally got to her, but honestly guys, she doesn't own anything other then the idea, Jeff and Toma-su. Enjoy the story!

Chapter 10: Tell Him, Show Him

Jin sighs and looks at the clock as Botan finishes; it had been half an hour. He hadn't expected for it to take that long, not that it mattered really. He goes over everything in his head and sums it up so that he can make sure that he has it straight. "So, what 'yer tellin' me lassie, is that our new friend upstairs is actually the youngin' of Hiei and before the harvest goes and comes again that he'll have to decide b'tween ceasin' ta' be an' becomin' part of a demon version of himself?"

Botan nods "That's pretty much it, yeah. Now that we know, Yusuke, Kuwabara and I don't know what to do. We can't tell him, he wouldn't believe us even if we did. But we can't NOT tell him either. We're all just so confused that we end up doing nothing at all. We tried locating Hiei and this 'Toma-su' fellow, but had no luck whatsoever. We're out of ideas."

Jin's eyes grow serious (A.N. well, as serious as Jin can get) for a moment before he says quietly "Botan, ya' have to tell 'im. You just have to."

Botan sighs "I know Jin, but I'm not sure how."

Jin shakes his head, speaking a bit loudly, and gaining volume as he goes on "No Botan, that's no excuse. Just tell 'im. If he doesn't believe, show 'im. He must know. It's no fair, keepin' a man's destiny from 'im. Worse then keepin' his freedom, I know. No man should have to suffer through what that one is goin' through. He's been stripped of whatever purpose he felt he had in life, now he's lookin' for a new one! You know as well as I if what's goin' around in that little missy head of yers' is true, he won't find what he wants behind a desk doin' paperwork! You will tell im' lassie, because if you don't, as soon as he walks out that door, I will."

Botan looks at Jin, a bit taken aback by the impromptu speech. They sit in silence for a while, just looking at each other, before finally Botan sighs and hangs her head "You're right. No use trying to keep it from him. I'll call the guys and tell them to meet us here before he gets off."

Jin smiles "That's more like it. I thank ya' lassie, and though he doesn't know it yet, I'm sure that Kei would thank ya' too."

**A.N. And that's that! Psyche! Come on guys, I'm not THAT mean! Anyways, on with the story, and the part I know that at least some of you've been waiting for!**

'Finally! Freedom!' Jeff thinks as he shoves himself away from the now hated desk with a satisfied sigh. He smiles as he says his good-byes to Koenma, all the while thinking 'I'm finally going to get my answers!' He walks through the hall quickly and takes the steps on the stairs two at a time, only stopping at the very bottom. 'Alright, remember, I'm not leaving until I get some answers, stay on topic, and look for whether she's pulling my leg or not.'

He straightens his face and takes a deep breath before walking out the stairwell door, only to find Botan not at the front desk. He raises an eyebrow and starts to panic "No, no, no! This isn't happening! She couldn't have gotten off early, could she?" he walks quickly up to the front desk and looks around it, as if she'd be hiding under it, but to no avail.

He's just about to really panic when he hears her familiar voice coming from off to his left "Umm...Jeff? Could you come in here for a moment?" He looks up and sees her head poking out of an inconspicuous door to the side. He nods, shoving his hands into his pockets and following her into the room.

He's surprised by some of the people he sees there. "Kurama, Jin, Mister Koenma? What are you doing here, I mean, I get Yusuke and Kuwabara, but you guys?"

Everyone stays serious and silent as Botan leads him to a chair "Please, take a seat, this is going to be a bit much to take in all at once."

Jeff smiles "You mean you're just going to tell me? I don't have to grill you guys or anything to get what I want?"

Botan nods "Yes, but you HAVE to be open-minded. A lot of what we're going to say probably isn't going to make any sense, and so that you stay and at least listen to everything we have to say, that door is locked from the outside, the only one who can get us out is Mister Koenma."

Jeff nods and notices that Yusuke's eyebrows shoot up at the news, apparently that little tidbit was news to him too. "Alright, tell me. What's going on? Do you or don't you know Toma-su, what do you know about him and me and why isn't Hiei here? He's the one I really want to ask questions too."

Everyone stays tight-lipped while looking at each other before Koenma breaks down and starts talking first. "Well Kei, I guess we should start by coming clean. Every single one of us in this room has deceived you in some way, even yourself. All of it was necessary though, for your benefit. However, something that has been uncovered that has rendered that benefit actually a weakness to you. This is the only reason why you are in this room right now."

Seeing that Koenma is beating around the bush, Jin jumps in "Ya' see laddie, most of us in this room aren't quite what we appear. There's no easy way to explain this, so I guess the best way is to dive right in, head first, and see that what comes may. Kei, there's a world around you that you don't know of. A world that we're all a part of. Demons and Death walk side by side with you every day, literally."

Jeff raises an eyebrow, not quite having it sink in "What are you saying?"

"He's saying," Kurama replies "that you have been tossed into a world that before you only imagined was real. To put it simply, demons and the afterlife exist. We are living proof."

Jeff shakes his head "What are you talking about? Aren't demons supposed to be creepy things that possess you and make you do evil things? I haven't seen anything even remotely like that"

At this Jin and Kurama chuckle "Some do, yes, but not as many as you may think. Those that are here mostly just want to live their lives, just like humans." Kurama says

Yusuke sighs "Look, this pussyfooting is giving me a headache. Kei, demons are real, Jin's one, I'm half a one, and Kurama...well, his story is just to weird for words, but he at least used to be one. As for the stupid Death and afterlife comments that Jin and Kurama made, Botan's really the Grim Reaper and Koenma's actually the son of Enma, the King of the Afterlife." (A.N. Woo-hoo! Go Yusuke! 10 points for bluntness!)

Jeff feels like he just swallowed his tongue as his eyes bug out. "You've got to be joking. He's joking right guys? Guys?" He looks around to see serious expressions all around, which only makes him panic more. He shakes his head "No, no, that can't be true, you guys are nuts if you think I'm going to believe that load." With that he slowly gets up and starts to back away from them, fear and confusion plainly written on his face.

Botan sighs "I told you he wouldn't believe us. He grew up normally, he's probably never even heard the word 'demon' as something other then an adjective or in the Bible. I told you that this was a bad idea."

Jin frowns at Botan before saying "An' I say he deserves ta' know. Kei, we're not lyin' to ya' and we're not off our nut. I promise ya', on me honor as a man, well, demon. Here, I'll show ya' that I'm a demon." With that he slowly takes off his baseball cap, showing his short white horn and his ears point with a small 'sproing' sound. Then, slowly, as if he were dealing with a frightened animal, he takes off his trench coat, revealing his usual white clothes underneath.

Jeff gulps as his eyes stay locked on Jin's horn and ears, slowly shaking his head, eyes wide in shock. Jin calmly, slowly says "See? It's okay, there's nothin' to be afraid of. Like Kurama said, most of us demons want nothin' but to live in peace."

Jeff stays where he is, pressed against the wall, before slowly sliding down it. All the while his eyes never leave Jin's head, his mind trying to wrap itself around this new information. His eyes then slowly go so that he is looking straight forward, staring into space. He takes deep breathes as his brain attempts to pull itself from the close-to-shut-down state it was in and form an intelligible thought or sentence.

His lips move as if they were trying to form words with no luck until he blinks consciously and takes one more breath. "W...why are you telling me this? Even if this is real and you guys are telling me the truth...Why?"

The group exchanges glances that even his numb mind can register as 'not good news' before Koenma tentatively comes up to him with what looks to be a file in his hands "This is why Kei. This explains why."

**Alright! The big turning point chapter is finally out in the open! Yay! But honestly, this took me a lot longer to write then it usually takes me to write chapters. Oh well, I got it done, that's the important thing! Well, next chapter we finally start to get moving with the plot a little more as Jeff comes to grips with what he will be faced with choosing. Can he do it without losing his mind? I'm not sure if I could; then again, I've already lost my mind! Lol, then again, one never knows, maybe he'll be able to find a different way, maybe the file's dead wrong, no one knows! Not even me! Not until I write it at least. Well, I'll stop rambling, see you next chappie! Review please!**


	11. Facing Fate

Chapter 11: Facing Fate

Disclaimer: Refer to just about any chapter before this if you don't already know what goes here.

Jeff gulps as he finishes reading the entry. His mind wasn't working all that well as it was still trying to make sense of everything. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath while putting the file down and pushing it away before opening his eyes and looking to the other faces in the room. He notices that they are all watching him, waiting for a reaction. He swallows again before starting slowly, for fear if he goes any faster he may break down. "Okay, let me get this all straight. One, demons and the Spirit World or whatever are real, right?"

He looks around for the affirmative nod before speaking again "Two, demons actually live among humans, disguised to avoid suspicion, correct?"

This time a nod from Jin, Kurama and Yusuke. "Three, according to this file, Hiei is..." he twists his face, the words not wanting to come from his mouth "...my...father?"

Several winces can be seen around the room, but nods accompany them. Jeff takes a deep breath before going on; this is where understanding gets painful. "Finally, if I don't find Toma-su and find out how to acknowledge this 'bond' or whatever, then I...I cease to exist, and even if we do then...then I might disappear anyways?" Nods issue throughout the room, but this time they are hesitant, no one meeting his eye when he looks around.

He gulps and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes to try and calm down so he can decide what to do next. He lets out a shaky breath before saying, "For now, I think I only want to know two things. First, how long have you been keeping this," he motions to the file "from me?"

Botan speaks up quickly "Yusuke, Kuwabara and I only found that file late last night. We had no idea beforehand."

Jeff nods "Alright, second," he looks at Koenma, whom he assumes is running the show "do you have any idea where they are?"

Koenma winces before shaking his head "No, I have several informants on the case, but Hiei is notoriously hard to find when he doesn't want to be found. As far as this 'Toma-su' character goes, before you came here I had no idea he even existed, so I'd say he's like Hiei in that respect at least."

Jeff clenches his teeth before saying, "Ok then, do you have any ideas what area they might be in?"

This time Kurama speaks up, "The most likely place would be the forest just outside of town. It's fairly big, usually quite dark and there are not many tourists that come that way. Such a place would be ideal to him."

Jeff nods before looking back to Koenma "Can I go now please?"

Koenma looks long and hard into his eyes before sighing and getting up. He walks over to the door and simply places his hand on the doorknob for a few seconds before turning it and opening the door. He holds it open as Jeff walks past, muttering "Be careful Kei. I rather not have to explain your disappearance to your mother."

Jeff merely nods before continuing out, leaving a quiet room behind. A few moments pass before both Jin and Yusuke get up and make for the door, causing Kuwabara to ask "Hey, where're the two of you going?"

Yusuke and Jin smirk at each other before Yusuke replies "I'm just goin' 'cause that idiot owes me a rematch at the arcade."

Jin nods "Aye, the little tadpole promised me a match as well, an' after you promise somet'in' like that, you jus' can't go back on it." With that the two of them are out the door, followed shortly by Kurama.

"I have known Hiei for the longest. I believe that I may have better luck in finding him and then I can find out if there is any way to save our new friend." was the simple explanation he gave before leaving.

Meanwhile the other two are just catching up with Jeff, "Hey Kei, wait up buddy!" Jeff is surprised out of his near-depressed attitude when he hears the now familiar voice behind him.

He looks up and over his shoulder to see Yusuke and Jin, who'd grabbed his hat but was otherwise undisguised, running to catch up to him. He stops and waits for them to catch up, which they do quickly while smirking at the confused expression on his face "What?" Yusuke says, "You think we wouldn't know where you're headin'?"

Jeff hangs his head a bit, like a guilty puppy, but the two just continue to smirk as Jin leans over and whispers, "Laddie, we only stopped ye' because you were headed in the wrong way. The forest is on the other side."

Jeff's head snaps up and he looks at them in disbelief "You mean, you guys aren't going to try and stop me or anything?"

Yusuke shrugs, "Nah, we figure if we were in your shoes, we'd be doin' the exact same thing, so who're we to talk?"

Jeff nods and turns around, slightly surprised when he finds the two still walking beside him. Jin notices and chuckles "Oh come now boy! Ye' didn't think that we're the type to abandon comrades in times of need, did ya' now? We're close-knit as the wool on a sheep's backside that we are."

Jeff smiles his thanks before walking with more conviction towards what he knows just might be his final fate.

**A.N. Alright! I updated! Sorry it took a little longer then usual guys, but school's started now and things are a little more cramped in my schedule. I'll try to keep close to the every day/every other day updates that I've been doing, but bear with me please. Okay, looks like we're** **finally starting to get moving with the plot. I think things will start happening and some questions will be answered next chapter, but I don't know for sure. Well, until next time! Review please! Oh, and P.S., I'm thinking of possibly starting a new fic for another anime. I won't go into detail, but just tell me which you think sounds more interesting, Beauty and the Beast with the Inuyasha chars. or a Pokemon fic where the gang finds out they're the destined riders of the legendary birds and are the only ones who can save the world from a brand new evil? Please tell me what you think! Thanks!**


	12. Finding A Way

Chapter 12: Finding A Way

Disclaimer: I cannot tell a lie, well, not about this at least. I don't own anything about Yu Yu Hakusho other then a couple eps. that I've recorded on VHS, and the idea for this story. I also don't have a cent to my name, so you won't get anything even if you sue me.

Jeff walks through the newly cut path in the woods, smiling more then even he thought he should be. He doesn't care though, and he is very grateful to the two boys that are walking a bit behind him, arguing "No way! Spider-Man would so kick Batman's ass!"

Jin shakes his head "Poor little Yusuke, so misinformed. Everyone knows tha' a bat could eat a spider wit' no problem at all. Wayne would take care of Parker jus' as easily."

Yusuke scoffs "Pfft, please! A bat is just a rat with wings. Ratboy doesn't even have any real superpowers! He's a wimp!"

Before Jin can rebuff, Jeff interrupts "Umm...guys, I know this is a really important argument, but could you be quiet? We're trying to find Hiei and Toma-su, not scare them off. That is if they don't already know we're here thanks to Jin's clear-cutting escapade." He motions to the path that they were now on.

Jin smirks "I told ya' already Kei. The wind can be powerful and silent. Even if you were standing right in the way you'd hardly hear a whisper. They don't call me the Wind Master for nothin' ya' know."

Jeff can't help but roll his eyes at the arrogance in Jin's voice "Ok, but what if they were to stumble on this happy little road of ours?"

This gets a sweat drop from Jin "Aye, I'll admit that I didn't t'ink of that." The reaction is a couple of sighs and hung heads.

At this point the three come to a large clearing and Jeff stops, "We've been walking around for about two hours. Let's take a rest for a..." his sentence is cut off as he disappears, a flash of white the only clue to what just happened.

Yusuke bolts over to the spot where Jeff had been moments before, eyes hardening as he tries to figure out which way they went before screaming in frustration "Hiei! I'm gonna pound you next time I see that ugly face of yours!"

Jeff hears it, snaps out of his daze and tries to look around, only to get a headache when he sees the forest whizzing by. His attention is brought upwards by a scoffing chuckle "Your friend certainly has quite the temper. Hiei-sama wasn't exaggerating in the least." There, above him, was his face with Hiei's eyes.

'Wait a minute' he thinks 'Above me? Forest whizzing by? What the hell?!' He looks around to try and figure out what's going on. It doesn't take him long. He's being carried under Toma-su's arm, like a mailman would carry a package. He grits his teeth. "Put me down now."

This only gets another scoff "You're in no position to demand anything human. Anyways, I will in a moment, we're almost there. So just shut your mouth until then."

Jeff glowers at him but stayed quiet, muttering to himself. Indeed, soon enough Toma-su stops in a clearing, rudely dropping him to the ground "I brought Tomu Hiei-sama. Your friend better be right." Jeff's eyes narrow a bit 'Friend?' He snaps his head up and first his glare is practically hypnotized by the fiery yet ice-cold eyes that look down at him, as if they were passing judgement. He practically jumps up and dusts himself off, casting a glare at Toma-su, who only rolls his eyes in response. Jeff looks for Hiei's aforementioned 'friend' only to find Kurama's wise green eyes looking back at him.

Kurama nods understandingly at Jeff's confused expression before explaining "Hiei and I have known each other for some time. I found him soon after you left. Apparently you twin here hadn't been filled in on all the details of your bond. Hiei and I were just examining your options while Toma-su went to get you."

The demon twin growls "I heard the main two options and I refuse to take part in either of them. I will not allow myself to disappear just because of some 'bond' I have with a stupid human, and I will NEVER willingly join essences with a weak human like Tomu." practically spitting the words 'human' and 'Tomu'.

Jeff clenches his fists to keep from slugging his 'brother' "Hey, I'm not exactly thrilled about this set-up either! At least you'd get to keep living if we go with one of the options! For all I know, I'd disappear completely! And another thing that's tickin' me off! Why do you keep calling me Tomu? My name is Jeff or Kei, where the hell do you get 'Tomu' from?!"

Toma-su practically yawns at him "You mean you don't know? Both Toma-su and Tomu mean 'twins'. I assumed you knew when I head that your Japanese name was Kei." The confused look on Jeff's face is enough to tell him otherwise.

He sighs frustratedly "Kei means Pure, Glory, or Fire. Don't you think that it's a bit coincidental for the 'offspring' of a fire demon?"

Jeff dumbly nods before looking to Hiei as he cuts in, "Names aren't important. Kurama and I figured you two would refuse the traditional choices, so we've thought of another possible solution."

This of course peaks the boys interest and they shift in unison to lean in closer to listen. Kurama, after stifling a chuckle at the scene, takes over the talking, "It is thought by certain circles that the reason the demon is the one to always emerge is because the demon's essence is stronger. It overpowers and then absorbs the human's essence, merely because the human essence is not strong enough to resist."

Jeff cocks an eyebrow "And that means...?"

"It means" Hiei continues "that if you don't want to disappear from existence, you're going to have to get much stronger. We think that if the human essence is as strong as the demon, you may be able to hold onto your own minds, recognize your bond, then return to being separate beings."

Toma-su huffs "I don't like it. That still means we'd have to join essences."

Hiei's eyes narrow with a look that a teacher would give an unruly student, but Kurama replies before he can say anything, "Yes, for a time, but I believe your words were 'I will never willingly join essences with a weak human'. If this plan is to work, Kei will have to be anything but weak. Unless of course, you are not as strong as you've led us to believe." He says with a smirk of someone that knows they've backed the other into a corner on his face.

He turns to Jeff at this point, "This, of course, is partly your decision as well. It's your essence that's at stake here. Also, if you decide to go with this idea, you will have to go through very intense training. Even if you just turned seventeen yesterday, it's going to take a lot of work and dedication to raise you to the level that you'll need to be at to stand a chance."

Jeff thinks for a moment before sighing and running a hand through his hair "I guess I don't have much of a choice. Like you said, my essence, really, I'M at stake here, and right now this is my best chance for staying alive. How can I not say yes?"

Kurama nods "I believe we should find Jin and Yusuke, then head back. We can start training in the morning. First you should probably start with some of the local thugs and a heavy workout every day."

Jeff nods, chuckling a bit, "I guess then that going to school is going to plummet to the near bottom of my priority list. How long do we have anyways? We always celebrated my birthday from the day I was found on Mom's doorstep, so I know I have at most 10 months, but I don't know exactly beyond that."

Hiei thinks for a moment, the glower ever-present on his face. "You have 9 months. I kept you for a month trying to find a suitable house to leave you at before succeeding."

Jeff bites the inside of his lip "9 months. That's not very long. You sure we should wait until morning? I mean, there's still some daylight left and I don't want to waste a moment."

Hiei smirks "Glad to hear you're so anxious." He turns to Kurama "I agree with a human, for once. We don't have any time to waste if you plan on forcing me into helping with this. The least we can do is test his abilities tonight. Then tomorrow we'll know where to start."

Kurama frowns before nodding "I guess you're right, but perhaps we should find Kei's companions first, before they demolish the entire forest looking for him."

As if on cue a giant blast of blue light issues forth to their right and they hear Yusuke yell "Hiei! Get yer' ass out here so I can beat it into a pulp! You know you can't hide from me forever!"

Something that could almost be called fear passes over Hiei's face before it goes back to its stoic form. Kurama smiles, poorly covering a chuckle before saying, "I'll get them. Stay here." looking pointedly at the two demons. They let out a 'Feh.' before he disappears into the brush.

Jeff shifts uncomfortably as his gaze flickers to each of the others. 'What have I gotten myself into?' He feels the tension in the air and inwardly sighs 'To think that this time last week all I had to worry about was if I had all my homework done and the track meet.'

**A.N. Alright, another chapter done and quite a few answers revealed. Of course, finding a way is one thing; actually following through with it is an entirely different thing. As for the names, all that stuff about the definitions is true, I looked it up on the net myself before I named them. Oh, and just so you know, there's also another reason why I changed Jeff's Japanese name, it's because in Japanese, his name translates to Jefufu, and come on, who could take a guy named 'Jefufu' seriously? Well, anyways, review please!**


	13. The Training Begins

Chapter Thirteen: The Training Begins

Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned any of the rights to Yu Yu Hakusho, though if someone were to want to sell them, I'd definitely make a bid.

After Kurama brings Jin and Yusuke to the clearing and there's a short bout where Yusuke tries to pound the other two demons (and Toma-su gets a glimpse at why Yusuke's name is infamous in the Demon World) Jeff and Kurama explain the idea. Yusuke nods afterwards "Alright, as far as tomorrow goes, I know some punks that've been getting pretty cocky. They'd be perfect training dummies. As for tonight, what were ya' thinkin'? One of us reign in our power and fighting him while the others watch?"

Kurama and Hiei nod, Kurama commenting, "We were planning on having me fight, considering that without the help of my plants, I am the weakest." He turns to Jeff, saying, "If you would permit me my weakest weapon, I wold be honored to test you."

Jeff nods a little shakily "O...okay, I guess. Just don't fatally injure me or anything." he says, slipping into the position he always took before a fight, one foot placed slightly in front of the other with his fists cocked.

Kurama smiles and nods, "Don't worry about that. This is a test, nothing more." With that he runs his hand through his hair and produces a simple, delicate red rose, holding it out to the side with his arm outstretched but lax.

Jeff nearly falls over in surprise but recovers quickly, re-entering his fighting position before regarding Kurama, who seemed to have anticipated his action and waited for him to recover, 'What's up with this? Kurama doesn't seem the type to joke or call something so fragile a weapon. What's he up to?'

Seeing the deduction and question in Jeff's eyes, Kurama nods before his eyes harden a bit and he flicks his wrist, calling out "Rose Whip!" As if summoned, in the blink of an eye the 'delicate' rose transforms into an eight-foot long green whip, complete with thorns and rose petals scattering to the wind. He lowers it, a gentle ripple flowing through the plant as he does so.

His eyes regard his weapon before speaking "This is the Rose Whip, my weakest plant. Its thorns can penetrate even the strongest of steels." He lifts his eyes in time to see Jeff gulp, a smirk tugging at his lips before he continues, "For purposes of this test however, they are unnecessary." He closes his eyes and seems to concentrate for a minute before the thorns recede into the vine, leaving Jeff faced with a thick green whip.

Jeff can't help but gulp a little at the prospect of going toe-to-toe with someone even he can tell is vastly superior to him as Kurama slides into his own fighting stance. One leg extended in front of him, while most of his weight was carefully balanced on the other. He places the hand with the whip in it high above and a little behind his head while the other hand finds its way to a little ways in front of him to provide balance.

Jin looks between the two combatants, his usual grin plastered on his face, "Alright, this'll be a fist-ta'-whip, toe-to-toe skirmish. No winners, stops on tha' three counts of givin' up, one o' us stoppin' the fight, or five rounds of tha' second hand. Agree?"

Jeff gives an uncertain "Yeah...sure..." while Kurama just nods.

Jin nods in response before chuckling a bit "Aye, I feel like one of those there referee lassies from the tournament." He then lifts one arm high over his head, glancing at each of the fighter before bringing it down swiftly, "And...start!"

Jeff keeps his eyes locked on Kurama, doing his best to remember what he'd learned on the streets about reading moves. Neither so much as breathes as they wait for the other one to make a move. Jeff sees one of Kurama's arm muscles twitch beneath the fabric and he's able to roll out of the way just in time as the tip of the whip snaps at the place where he'd been not two seconds before.

Jeff stays slightly crouched, ready for the next attack. Kurama looks at him with something akin to commendment and Jeff can't help but smirk before mentally berating himself, 'Idiot! Don't get cocky after dodging one...crap.' He thinks as he sees the whip wrap around one of his legs and pull his feet out from under him before he can move.

He flips himself over and catches himself on his hands and knees, quickly shaking his leg free of the whip before whirling around and charging, thinking 'I gotta get close. I'm screwed if I can't even get one hit in.'

Kurama looks a bit surprised at the charge but then calmly regards him, easily dodging the punches and kicks that Jeff throws, effectively ticking him off, "Dammit! Hold still will you?"

He sees something gleam in Kurama's eyes before he feels his fist come into contact with the red-haired boy's jaw. He watches in surprise as Kurama hits the dirt, 'Woah! I didn't actually expect him to hold still!'

Slowly, calmly, Kurama gets up and dusts himself off, saying "Alright, I believe that everyone has drawn their conclusions, correct? Is there any area that I forgot to test?" He looks around at the mildly impressed faces, aglow in the setting sun's light, before nodding, "I take that as a no. Alright then, this fight is concluded."

Jeff relaxes out of his fighting stance. He isn't surprised that Kurama abruptly ends the fight, indeed he was expecting it. "So," he tries to say lightly "did I pass the preliminary?"

Kurama regards him coolly before speaking "You have exceptional seed and reflexes, though that's not surprising considering how Hiei is. Your fighting stance and power are slightly above a normal human's, however, you lack the concentration and temperament to use your skills optimally, and you have a long way to go before you stand the slightest chance against tying with any of us."

Yusuke chuckles a bit, "In lameman's terms, you're quick and strong, but you gotta focus more, not get so easily riled and train...a lot."

Jeff nods, "Ok, so that's all I can get you to do with me tonight? No more training?"

Hiei looks ready to say something but Jin interrupts "No, ya' need your rest laddie. You've had a dig day fer' bein' a human like ya're. Go home an' sleep. Yusuke an' I'll be by once the sun wakes up to get ya' ready fer' training."

Jeff nods, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear ya'. Though I really would like to stay." He glances up at the sky, which is filled with dark, heavy clouds about halfway to the horizon, then to Hiei and Toma-su. A thought flits through his head, but he pushes it away, only to find the harder he pushes, the more persistent it becomes until finally he bends to it and asks, "Umm...Hiei, Toma-su?"

Hiei casts a glare at him, "You are to call me Hiei-sama Tomu, what is it?" he snaps.

Jeff reflexively winces a bit but continues "I was just wondering if...if you had somewhere to stay tonight since it looks like it's going to rain."

Hiei and Toma-su's eyes narrow and Toma-su asks, with a hint of curiosity in his voice, "Why? What does it matter to you?"

Jeff bites the inside of his lip, a habit from when he was a kid, "I just though that, you know, if you didn't, you could crash at my place. We're sort of kin after all."

Toma-su looks at Jeff with something like confused amazement, but Hiei answers, "Feh. Demons don't worry about a little rain. Go back to your apartment and sleep. Be thankful for it, if it were up to me you wouldn't have one."

Jeff sighs, "Yeah, I thought as much. Just had to ask though. Alright then, see you guys in the morning." With that, he turns and jogs off, intent on making tomorrow come as quickly as possible.

Yusuke and Jin both scowl at Hiei "That was low man, even for you."

"He was jus' tryin' ta' help. You didn't hav' to bite 'is 'ead off."

With that they turn and run after Jeff Yusuke calling out "Yo Kei! Wait up!" while Kurama slinks unnoticed into the foliage, leaving a confused yet amazed demon, and an outwardly indifferent demon behind.

**A.N. Yay! I updated! Sorry it took so long, homework's been a pain. So, what'cha guys think of the fight scene? I gotta admit, it's the first one that I've ever done, so I'm not real sure on how good it is. Next chapter the real training starts, though before morning breaks Jeff is going to have an interesting talk with a certain someone (I'm not saying who!) Oh, and just a question, if Toma-su were to get a 'proper' name (like Jeff or Kei) what do you guys think it would be? I need ideas, 'cause as is right now I'm fresh out on this one! Well, thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	14. Opening Prejudiced Eyes

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the YYH gang 'cept Jeff and Toma-su. Ironically though, I do own the lawyers that make me write this. glares at said lawyers

A.N. Sorry it took so long to get this up everyone. School's been heck on my schedule here at home. And for those of you who read my other story, I promise to try and update as quickly as possible.

Chapter Fourteen: Opening Prejudiced Eyes

Jeff had decided to hang out with Yusuke and Jin for a little while after they left the clearing, but parted ways with them when it had started raining. Now he is back in his apartment, sprawled out in a chair. He had no idea he was so exhausted until he had walked through his door. He tries to focus, he wanted to take some time to think over everything in his life that had changed today, but he finds himself unable to. He unwillingly dozes off for a few hours before being roused by a rapping on the window.

'What the...?' he thinks, blinking the sleep from his eyes as he goes to the window to find out what woke him. He opens the blinds just as lightning strikes nearby, illuminating a figure that is perched in a tree right outside his window. His eyes widen and he almost yelps before realizing who it is. Like a bolt he has the blinds up and the window open, "Toma-su! What are you doing here?" he asks in honest surprise.

The young demon looks a bit uncomfortable before mumbling, so Jeff can barely hear him over the wind and rain, "Taking you up on your offer. Is it still available?"

It takes a moment for Jeff to absorb what Toma-su just said before replying quickly, "Yeah! Of course! Come in, please!" bringing his head in and stepping back so the demon has room to land, which he does seconds afterwards.

Jeff hurries and gets a towel for him while he waits where he stands, shifting a bit uncomfortably. Jeff produces the towel with a smile and Toma-su hesitantly takes it, drying his face, hair, hands, and squeezing some of the water from his clothes into it. Jeff takes it back and goes to the hallway, tossing it down the hall and into the laundry basket.

When he comes back, Toma-su has a frown on his face, quickly asking a single word, "Why?"

Jeff cocks his head a little, looking as confused as his 'twin', "Why what?"

A moment's silence before Toma-su's resolve strengthens and he clarifies, "Why did you invite Hiei-sama and I here? Why did you welcome me in and give me something to dry off with? We are demons, you humans fear us. Not to mention we ripped you from your identity. If I were you, I'd never have even gone into the forest. Not that I care, I'm just curious as to what makes you...different?"

Jeff flops into the chair he'd been sleeping in minutes before, motioning for Toma-su to take a seat. He slowly does as Jeff speaks, "I honestly don't know. If you'd told me on Wednesday that before a week had passed that I'd be in Japan, in effect fighting for my life, not sure if I'd get to ever see my mom or Johnny ever again, and that one of the people that was partially responsible would be sitting in my new living room. If you had asked me what I'd do in that situation, I'd probably say I'd try to rip the guy's head off."

He chuckles as Toma-su starts a bit, smiling to try to help calm the demon, at this point leaning forward, elbows on his knees, fingers steepled with his chin perched on top of them. "But it's weird, I always knew the story my mom told me about finding me, but I never believed it before now, even with my...unique attributes." He blows some of his light blue hair out of his face before continuing, "But, now that I know all this, it's like...like...I have a real family, strange as it may be. I actually know now that I have a father, that I didn't just fall out of the sky or something. Even though he's not a father in the traditional sense of the word, and is kinda cold for the job, but still. I guess I felt like I have a responsibility to him...and you. You're family, and family sticks together, that's something Mom taught me."

Once again, Toma-su frowns, "You humans really are strange creatures. Loyalty is a weakness. It endangers your life. And yet, you humans purposely bind yourselves to others. Are you so stupid and weak you must rely on others to survive? And even if so, why not just take what you need?"

Jeff furrows his brow a bit at this, "I wouldn't say we're weak or stupid, we actually, I think, would be alright if we were all on our own. But our loyalty makes us stronger. Knowing that we're not alone gives us the courage to go forward. Sometimes, a lot of the time actually, it can save a life, sometimes lives. It adds to the strengths that someone already has, why do you think Jin, Yusuke, Kurama and Dad hang out together? It's because the strengths of everyone minimize their weaknesses. I can tell they've been through a lot together, and that experience has brought them closer. I guess the most 'logical' explanation of loyalty would be debt. They kept your butt safe or provided for you, so you do the same. To do otherwise would be unhonorable."

Toma-su's brow is furrowed in thought at this point, going over what Jeff just said before slowly nodding, "I guess I could understand that."

There's a tense silence before Jeff clears his throat. "Well, now that that's answered, could you tell me something?"

Toma-su's eyes narrow slightly "Like what?"

Jeff thinks for a moment before looking him right in the eye with a bit of a smile on his face, "Like...say...your real name?"

Toma-su's eyes now cloud over in confusion, "What do you mean? Toma-su is my name."

Jeff looks slightly disappointed, "Oh, I guess I just figured since I had two Japanese names, you would too." He cocks his head a bit, leaning back in his chair, "Hmmm...well I don't want to just keep calling you 'twin'. It's kinda impersonal. So what could I call you instead?"

Toma-su stays silent, looking a bit hesitant before saying, "I once watched this man at night every now and again. I never saw him with anyone but he was always training and he always looked...happy. I want his name. I think it was 'Tsume'."

Jeff cocks his head, "Tsume. Yeah, the name seems to fit you. I have no idea what it means, but it fits. Alright, so I'll call you Tsume and you can call me whatever you're most comfortable with. So," he says, veering to another subject, "life with Dad seems like it's pretty rough. Is he always like that?"

Toma-su, now also known as Tsume, shakes his head, replying, "No, sometimes he gets angry."

Jeff's jaw drops, "You mean, he's been in a good mood? Jeez, if this is what he's like when he's happy I'd hate to see it when he blows his top!"

Tsume nods, "I have seen one or two that have been foolish enough to anger him." he seems to involuntarily shudder, "The result was...not attractive. There is a reason why he is feared by almost all who know of him. You have met nearly all of those who do not fear him, but I assure you, Hiei-sama is known throughout all three realms." At this Tsume seems to hold his head a little higher as if he were bragging about himself rather then his elder.

Jeff can't help but smile "Cool." then he frowns a bit, "Something I don't get. What's up with the whole 'realms' thing? What are they and all that?"

Things go on like this through the night, Tsume explaining something Jeff didn't understand then vice versa. Finally the two notice that the sun's rays are peeking over the horizon. They look at the sunrise in surprise, Jeff commenting, "Jeez, we've been talking for that long? Doesn't seem like we've even started an hour ago."

Tsume nods as Jeff stands, stretching a bit, "Yes, time certainly went by quickly. Hiei-sama will be cross."

Jeff cocks an eyebrow, "Why? Because we spent all night up talking?"

Tsume nods, "Yes, that, and because I came. Hiei-sama doesn't like it when I speak to humans."

Jeff frowns, "Well, we'll just deal with that when it happens." He then hears a loud knock and sighs, "Two guesses who that is. Man, I am not ready for a day of training!" He stretches again, "Oh well, time to face the music." With that he goes to the front door, ready to deal with whatever was thrown at him.


End file.
